Medical emergencies require fast and patient-specific care. Endotracheal intubation, for example, is one emergency procedure that requires a series of multiple injections, which must occur within the time frame of seconds to avoid possibly permanent injury. Although emergency room personnel is generally well trained to perform emergency procedures, the treatment of children poses special challenges because children require adjustments of medication dosages to their body weight. Hospitals and other health care providers are often prepared for adult emergency patients, but many are ill-prepared for the added complexity of weight-based calculations in medication dosages required for children, especially during urgent situations. Errors, delays, and deviations from recommended standards for adult patients can adversely impact outcome in pediatric emergencies. It is common for emergency departments, even those caring primarily for adults, to maintain pediatric supplies and medications as a contingency. However, maintaining competencies to be able to appropriately treat children during emergencies is challenging and not every emergency department has a pediatric emergency physician on call. Such situations lend themselves to errors and delays, both of which can have disastrous consequences to patients, their families and society.
Exact dosing of medications in emergency situations is especially challenging when treating low-weight children including full-term and premature babies. Calculations of exact dosages or determination of dosages from dosing tables are time-consuming and potential sources for medication errors. Endotracheal intubations require the performance of a series of injections of medications within seconds, and a device that can reduce the time needed to administer medications and reduce the possibility for error can have broad impact on favorable patient outcome. The subject invention provides such a device that moves medication dosage determination and preparation time out of the emergency situation and provides ready-to-use medication trays suitable for patients of a wide range of body weights for safe rapid sequence intubations.